Classes had been so awkward, if only because of Tamamo's insistence that she attend to them as well. Haru, for his part, wasn't sure what to do or if that was even entirely possible. Thankfully, his rescue came in the form of Sona, who had taken a few liberties to provide his apparent wife with a guest card. It was valid only for a week, but it would be enough to satiate the woman's curiosity about school life.
The only downside was the downright murderous glares he was receiving from his fellow males and the uncomfortable stares from the less hostile ones. The girls gave him suspicious to downright accusing glares. Add to the whispers floating around, and Haru was beginning to realize just how bad of an idea it was to bring her here. The attention he was receiving was not the kind he expected to happen nor was the reaction something he was comfortable with. He really just wanted to bury his head in a hole and never pull it out.
Dammit! This totally sucks!
Why did this have to happen to him?! He realized he was a pervert but… no, wait, never mind. That was probably the reason. It seems this was karma's way of paying him back.
"Ara, ara, Namikaze-kun… I never knew you had some kind of swagger if you scored a hottie like that."
Haru felt a chill run down his back as the voice crept into his ear. Only one fiend can do this to me. he realized as he slowly looked over his shoulder.
It was Aika, a lecherous grin present on her face with eyes twinkling with amusement.
"You must've been holding out on us." The bespectacled gestured to Tamamo, who was looking around the room in curiosity. "Never realized you had it in you."
Oh dear sweet Kami. he silently begged the gods to end whatever embarrassing torture this she devil was going to put him through. Please. Not today. I've had all I can take of heart attacks.
"So, have you lost your v card yet?"
"Sh-shut up!" He yelped, recalling what could've potentially happened last night before passing out. His shout came out louder than he wanted. Thankfully, the teacher didn't notice, though it did earn him a few odd stares. Grimacing, he glared back at Aika. "A-And whether or not I lost my virginity is none of your business, Kiryu!"
"So you haven't lost it?" Aika questioned with a frown of disappointment. "That's a shame. Especially considering what sort of heat your packing."
"Will you stop scanning me?!" he hissed, face red.
"I can… but I won't. It's too much fun~"
He scowled. Damn this woman! He was not used to this at all! "I will say this, though." Aika grinned. "Once you do lose your v card, that foxy lady back there is going to break."
Sadly, such words only brought his perverted side to the surface. The erotic image of Tamamo, naked as the day she was born, below him while he was above her, hip between her legs and she with a face that could only be described as nirvana. His face burned crimson. It took all of his willpower not to have a nosebleed. That image would have come to life had he not been such a novice when faced by the art of seduction. The mere memory of last night, a scene that he has only seen happen in his eroge games, brought a jolt of electricity down his spine.
Tamamo truly had no idea what she did to him.
"Pft, looks like you're already imagining it." She teased.
"S-Shut up." he weakly retorted.
Maybe, just maybe… Tamamo would actually be up for that? So long as she was willing, of course! He didn't want to force her into anything she didn't want! Wait, hold on. Isn't sex a bit too fast? Wouldn't it better if he "tests the waters" so to speak? Dammit, what do married couples do in the first place? Should he ask his parents?
… Somehow, that felt like a very, VERY bad idea.
Haru sighed and drooped his head. Ever since he met Yuma Amano, his life had become so complicated.
Yuma-chan...
The name had brought forth a bitter aftertaste along with a great deal of pain. The first girl he liked and dated… ended up being a cold hearted bitch who merely toyed him for amusement before trying to kill him.
It stung. It stung a lot.
The first date he ever had was the best feeling he could have ever experienced. It all seemed so surreal. Like a dream. It may as well have been, what with the aftermath. Every time he thought of Yuma and their date, the image always changed to her cold sneer of indifference and sadistic pleasure, black wings.
Oh god… those wings. Those jet black, feathery wings...!
"... kaze-kun ? Namikaze-kun!"
Haru snapped out of reality, jolting straight up in a straight line. His chair scraped against the floor as it clattered to the floor. Everyone was staring at him, a few in concern and the rest in confusion. Tamamo looked on worriedly and in concern, gaze tender. From the other side of the room, Motohama and Matsuda, who were among the vengeful stares, couldn't help but look at him in concern either. The teacher was staring at him too.
It took him a moment to realize that his heart was hammering against his chest and sweat was pouring down his skin like a waterfall.
"Are… are you alright, Namikaze-kun?" The teacher asked him. "Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"
Haru opened his mouth, but he found his throat dry and hoarse. Instead, he could only offer a lame nod.
Has Yuma truly affected him so much...?
Once school had finished and Haru returned home, Tamamo next to him and holding to him gently like a lover would, Sona and Rias had met as per usual. It was Wednesday, meaning that they would be having another meeting to discuss the recent activities in their territory as well as discern other issues such as contracts. Being two lords sharing a territory, they had to decide what workload went to who and what contracts they would distribute to their peerages.
Compared to usual, the atmosphere was tense.
"I hear Namikaze-kun suffered a breakdown in class." Rias said as she sipped her tea with a look of concern. "They said he was unresponsive for three minutes, even when the teacher called on him. Skin sweaty, eyes dialated."
"Textbook symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder." Sona remarked with a frown. "Not unexpected, given that he was nearly killed yesterday. And I doubt that it will be the only attempt."
"You think the Fallen Angels will attempt again? Namikaze-kun summoned the closest thing you can get to a goddess, and she's all but declared him her husband. You'd have a death wish to try and continue a hit on his life."
"Maybe so. But I wouldn't put it outside the realm of possibility." Sona answered. "However foolish the idea is. Though I am still a bit skeptical about who she says she is."
Rias raised an eyebrow. "Even after what we felt today?"
"Yes. Even though she is a Divine Spirit, something felt off."
"How do you mean?"
"Rias, what do you know about Divine Spirits?" Sona asked.
"I understand that they are the highest ranked Nature Spirits and remnants of Gods. Why?"
"In the case of Tamamo-no-Mae, it would be no exaggeration to say that she is, without question, the most powerful youkai that has ever existed." Sona stated evenly. "Even the current leader of the Youkai Faction, Yasaka, isn't that powerful, even though she is an emissary of Amaterasu. Tamamo-no-Mae was powerful because she wasn't simply a kitsune, much less a nine-tailed fox. She was powerful because she was a piece of Amaterasu. An incarnation of a god. A fragment, so to speak. One might say she is the literal definition of a Divine Spirit." She paused briefly, taking a small drink of her tea, before she continued. "However, because of that nature, when she died, she would have rejoined Amaterasu and become apart of her once again. If, somehow, she was revived, wouldn't that also mean she would have all the knowledge that Amaterasu has as well?"
Rias pursed her lips, tilting her head. "Hm… you make a sound argument." she conceded. "And in the end, we have no way of actually confirming whether or not she truly is Tamamo-no-Mae. However, the point that she's powerful still stands."
The overwhelming killing intent that flooded the room earlier today was proof of that.
"Also, Koneko herself can attest to her identity, especially given that she's Nekoshou."
"I know. Koneko wouldn't be able to mistake that power belonging to someone else. She'd be able to sense it."
And to a Nekoshou, power did not lie. If anyone could recognize or identify Tamamo-no-Mae for who she was, even if they have never met before, it would be here.
Yet Sona remained still unconvinced.
There was just… a discrepancy in the power expected. While she experienced Tamamo-no-Mae's strength first hand, it was a far cry from what she truly expected.
Don't get her wrong, such power was most definitely belonging to that of a god, or at least an incarnation of one. If she were to compare it, it was of a far stronger magnitude than her own sister's power. There was a reason why Serafall was named "Leviathan." But something about Tamamo's power, however unadulterated and raw, felt… strange. She couldn't quite put it into words, but it seemed off somehow.
Then again, perhaps she's just paranoid. Especially with everything that's been happening lately. With the Fallen Angels occupying Kuoh, and currently unaware of their plans, she had been on edge recently.
And Namikaze Haru summoning Amaterasu's Incarnation despite possessing an average background did not help matters.
Everything was happening far too fast for her own liking. And wherever this chaotic freight train was heading, the resulting crash wasn't going to be pretty.
Sona eventually sighed. "I wonder if this is how the Maou feel, dealing with troublesome situations that happen in their respective fields."
"Probably." Rias joined her woes. "Onii-sama sends me letters and complaints about his job and how Grayfia-nee has him working like a dog."
"Ah. So the same as my onee-sama sending me letters, trying to convince me to join her in her magical girl setup?"
"Yeeeep."